Expansion joint



J. F. OURY EXPANS ION JOINT Dec 28, 1937.

Filed March 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Maw);

Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITE-D STATES PATENT oFFlcE 7 Application March17,

'5 Claims.

-My inventiontrelates -to .expansion joints for concrete structures .andthe like, and has particular referenceto an expansion joint which isfashioned from ,a single unitary flat piece of .fiexible material ofsuitable width .andlength, and which is bentatsomepoint intermediate itslength so its end portionsare at an angle .to each other and, is used insections of concrete making angularrturns, thereby providing anexp'ansion joint; for turns or. corner constructions which is .notsubject to breakage. or leakage as-is commonwith expansion joints now inuse.

Another and furtherobjectloi my invention is the provision ofanexpansion joint made from a single sheet of foldable,materiahsuch ascopper, which can be.,.bent to;form; ,a right angle turn and embeddedina concrete structure, thus providing a leakproof joint in the. structureand which prevents moisture from passing through 20. the walls of thestructure,such as a wall, floor or ceiling, and also in trenches,conduits, tunnels, reservoirs, swimmingpools, and the like.

In practice themaklng of flumes, reservoirs,-

swimming pools, basements or any concrete structure subject tohydrostatic pressure, the; concrete itself can be coated in such mannerthat it is impervious to water, but due to the expansion and contractionof the concrete, expansion joints must be used between thesectionsmakingup the Walls of the concrete structure. These expansion joints aremade in various. typesand forms and when necessary to provide anexpansion joint for a-bend in concrete structures-or a right angle turnin concrete walls, the expansion joint has been made from metal and bentto form with the ends soldered together to form a unitary structure. Dueto the strains imposed upon the soldered metal after the structure is inservice, the solderbreaks awa thereby permitting mois- 4il ture to leakthrough the joint, destroying its usefulnessand effectiveness inpreventing moisture from passing through the structure at the joints.Asa result these structures begin leaking, and being embedded inconcrete it is extremely diflicult, if not impossible, to repair suchleaks. In some cases they cannot be repaired at all, and as a resultsuch structures are ofttimes defective.

In my improved structure a single unitary section of flexible material,such as copper, is bent around a corner and embedded in the concretestructure so that no solder is used. 'In view of the fact that theexpansion joint at thefcorner is continuous and the material isunbroken, there ,Siis not the stress and strain ,put upon it in thepreserving the concrete structure from the development of leaksatthecorners or where, the concrete wall changes its direction.

Another and further, object of my invention is the provision of aconcretejoint "which can be easily and quickly shaped to form angles or'the like, through the useof proper tools on the job between the concreteslabs.

Theseland other, objects of, my invention will be more fully and.betterunderstood; by refervents moisture, from passing through thejoints 7 encev to the accompanying sheets of drawings,

and in which-.

Figure 1 :is a perspective view of a portion of a concrete structureshowing my improved expansion joint applied thereto;

.Figure 2-is a fiat slab-of concrete showing a plurality of theseexpansion joints placed in such position that anexpansionjoint is formedwhich prevents the passageoi moisture through the joint between theslabs of concrete;

.Figurev 3 is an elevational view .of a piece of material showingthefoldllines marked thereon;

Figured is an elevational view 0121 portion of the material showing achannel projecting upward therefrom Figure 5 is a side elevational viewof an expansion jointiormed, ready to be placed in a concrete structure;

Figure 6is an elevational view of one end of the expansion joint showingthe. section projecting inward; i

Figure Tis a view similar toFigure-3 showing a 'flat piece of materialwith fold lines marked thereon, the channel in this section having aslightly flattened portion thereon 'Figure 8"is an elevational viewshowing the flattened section ofrib;

- Figure 9-is a-side elevational view or the expansion joint shown inFigure 7 after being folded to position; and

Figure 10 is an elevational view showing the channel section in one endof the expansion joint shown in Figure 9.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, and in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, a vertical concrete wall |5is shown, which has a horizontal wall |'6 integrally formed therewithextending at right angles to the portion l5. An expansion joint,designated as a whole as- H, is provided in the end of the concretesections I5 and I6 and against which similar concrete sections areformed in abutting relation in the construction of a wall for a fiume,conduit, basement fioor or the like, as may be desired. The expansionjoint (Fig. 3) is made up of a single piece of flat, flexible materialsuch as copper, and has fold lines markedthereon, lines I8 and I9extending longitudinally of the expansion joint H, with a center line 20being provided, with transverse lines 2| and 22 and short diagonal lines23 and 24 which register with the lines 2| and 22 at one side thereofand connect at the point of intersection with the longitudinal fold line20'. When the expansion joint I1 is folded along these lines, wingportions 25, 25 are formed at each side of the joint member,

with a V-shaped channel section 26 therebetween, and isso folded thatwhen the expansion joint member is finally formed (Fig. l), the channelportion 26 on one end of the expansion joint member extends inward (thehorizontal section in Fig. 1), while on the other end of the member thechannel section 26 extends outward from the expansion joint member (thevertical portion shown in Fig. 1), with the spread of the V beingcomparatively narrow so that the Wing portions 25 are embedded in theconcrete, movement of the expansion joint member is permitted throughthe flexing of the channel section 26.

When these joint members are fashioned, the material is folded along thelongitudinal fold line 26, which becomes the apex of the channel portion26 of the joint member. The material is again folded along thelongitudinal fold lines l8 and I9 whereby the wing portions 25 areformed, these portions extending generally parallel to the longitudinaldirection of the concrete structure, as shown in Figure 1, and areembedded in the concrete as it is formed. The walls of the channelsection 26are angularly positioned with respect to the wing portions 25,with the spread of the V-shaped channel section'being of sufficientwidth to allow for contraction and expansion of the concrete. The stripof material is thereafter folded transversely along the fold lines 2|and 22 and the diagonal fold lines 23 and 24. Preferably, one end of thematerial in this form has the apex of the V-shaped channel sectionextending in one direction while at the opposite side the apex thereofextends in the opposite direction. I'he apex of one of these channelsections extends into and centers at the bottom of the channel portion26 of the expansion joint member. In this way the material is folded sothat the expansion joint is a continuous strip of material extendingaround the corners and, of course,the ends may be overlapped if it isdesired to put in several sections of material in a concrete structure.

In Figures 7 to 10, inclusive, a modified form of structure is shown. Inthis structure longitudinal fold lines Z'I'and 28 are provided centrallylocated with respect to the flexible member amass? making up the joint,while other longitudinal lines 29 and 3|] are provided along which thematerial is folded along transverse fold lines 3| and 32 extendingacross the outer or wing portions 33, 33 of the member and alongdiagonal fold lines 34 and 35. These fold lines intersect a fold line 36connecting the two fold lines 21 and 28, and which, when the material isformed, provides a channel section 31 having a flat portion 38 at oneside thereof, but in which the channel section 31 extends in onedirection on one end of the expansion joint member, and in the oppositedirection at the other portion of the member, particularly as shown inFigure 9.

In Figure 2 is shown a form of device made into a rectangle for placingin a flat slab of concrete 39, for road work and the like. This form isof the same type as shown in Figure 1, with the exception, of course,that the dimensions of the expansion joint member are such as to conformto the flat slab'and in which'only a short portion of the expansionjoint member is turned at an angle to form the vertical portions of theex-' pansion joint extending from the top and bottom of the slab 39.

In operation of the device, it will 'be understood that these jointmembers are formed with appropriate tools on the job where the concreteis poured. They can be fashionedto fit the particu- I lar forms ofconcrete being poured and are placed in position with the concretepoured therearound, and thereafter the concrete joints are formed bypacking in the usual manner by using some form of bituminous materialbetween the ends of the concrete members, thus embedding the jointmembers in the concrete structure.

While I have described more or less precisely the details ofconstruction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto,as I contemplate changes in form and the proportionof parts and thesubstitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An expansion joint for concrete structures comprising a unitary sheetof metal having its end portions folded at an angle to each other andinto channel portions in one section, the channel section projectinginwardly and the other portion having the channel portion extendingoutwardly.

2. An expansion joint for concrete structures composed of a unitarysheet of metal folded into channel sections with wings extendingtherefrom" at an angle thereto having portions folded atan angle to eachother with the channel section ex tending inwardly on one end of thesection and outwardly at theopposite end. 1

3. An expansion joint member comprisinga unitary sheet bent in alongitudinal direction to form a channel member intermediate the, sidesof the said member, and having wing members extending outward from thechannel member on each side thereof and bent intermediate its ends toform portions at an angle to each other, the said channel sectionextending in one direction in one portion of said member and intheopposite direction in the other portion of. the said member.

4. An expansion joint member composed of a single sheet of foldablematerialhaving a V: shaped channel section extending longitudinallythereof, and wing portions extending outward from said channel. sectionon .each sidethereof, the section being folded in a transverse direcfromsaid channel section on each side thereof, the section being folded in atransverse direction intermediate its ends whereby one end is disposedat an angle to the other end to the apex of the V-section on one end,extending into the trough of the V-section at the other end at the pointwhere the section is bent in a transverse direction. j g

JOHN FOSTER OURY.

